They haven’t always been there. Disneyland’s mountains. You realize that they haven’t always been there, right? Disneyland opened in 1955 with an assortment of attractions. Twenty-one to be exact. Opening day experiences ranged from a railroad you could ride, a steamboat you could sail, to a jungle you could cruise. But no mountains. I remembered this two years ago when my dad, who lives in Tennessee, came to California for a visit. He had been to Southern California, once, in 1960, for a trip to Disneyland. Fifty-five years later, he was shocked to see so many mountains surrounding Los Angeles. “Son, I swear these mountains weren’t here when your mom and I visited back in 1960.” “Well, you know dad, it’s possible that Southern California has added mountains since the … [Read more...]

Friday, May 31st, was a BIG day for Disneyland. After four years of planning and preparing; four years of clearing and construction, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge finally opened. Other than opening day itself, the park has never been braced for a bigger premiere. Announced during D23 in August 2015, the new area, at fourteen acres, is the park’s biggest land to date. As a comparison, New Orleans Square—which opened in 1966 as Disneyland’s first new land—is only three acres. Like New Orleans Square, Star Wars Land will eventually be home to two “E-ticket” type attractions—Disneyland’s first new E-ticket ride(s) since Indiana Jones opened nearly twenty-five years ago (March 1995). In Disney’s defense, they have built (and rebuilt) an entirely new park since then.  But California … [Read more...]

I spent way too much time last week thinking about baseball and circus trains.  In my defense, baseball is my favorite sport and Opening Day was last Thursday. The very next day Disney premiered its new, live-action/CGI version of Dumbo.  Dumbo is my all-time favorite Disney movie and I am anxious to see if the new version can hold a feather to the magic of the original. When you spend time reflecting on baseball and circus trains, you end up making new connections.  For example, did you realize that Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Florida have contrasting Caseys?   I didn’t either. At least not until last week. The Casey Jr. Circus Train opened at Disneyland as an original 1955 attraction.  It is a Fantasyland favorite. Partly because of its … [Read more...]

I have a co-worker, Michael, who lives by the axiom, “you only ever get one chance to notice a new haircut.”  The irony, of course, is that Michael is the second baldest man in our office. You can guess who is the baldest. I work in an office filled with middle-aged, balding men.  But haircuts still happen. And they still count. When one of us walks in sporting a shorter and sharper look than the day before then you better take notice.  Compliments can’t come a day--or even an hour--late. “Hey, Steve.  Did you get a haircut?”   “I did!” “Looks great!” “Thanks.  You know what Michael always says, you only ever get one chance to notice a new haircut.  Great job!” Whew!  The day is only five minutes old but I have already passed the first test.  If I can see the hairline … [Read more...]

Last month, Niki and I took our boys to Epcot for their first visit.  They have been to Walt Disney World before, but we saved the Epcot experience until they were old enough to enjoy the more adult-oriented adventure. They loved it.   Taking them to Test Track was especially fun.  Logan and Wesley were out of school for Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, so they were a bit leery, at first, of an attraction with the word “test” in it.  But once I explained the ride’s concept—you design your own concept car and test it on both an indoor and outdoor track—their interest went from zero to 100 in a few short seconds. Our slot car hit 69.5 MPH that morning.  This is easily the fastest I have ever gone on Test Track.  Our boys paid special attention to the design aspects of the attraction, … [Read more...]

A few years ago, while living in Hawaii, Niki and I decided to celebrate Christmas in Paris. Before we could take off, we first had to visit the local library. You see, Niki is a master planner and a rabid researcher, but not me. I avoid libraries like an overdue book. This time, she was insistent. “We have books to browse, periodicals to peruse, maps to memorize, and language lessons to learn!” “Whoa! Stop the Metro! Language lessons? What language?” Apparently, Paris is in France, and the French prefer to speak, well, French. My friends often accuse me of speaking English as if it were my own foreign tongue, so French was now the official language in the Land of Never Going to Happen. Each day, Niki added voluminously to her vocabulary. Meanwhile, I did what I always do. I … [Read more...]

It was a day decades in the making. Growing up in the 1960s, nothing mesmerized me more than the Space Race.  I was five years old the night that Neil Armstrong took his “one small step for man.”  I remember it vividly. Like every other kid in 1969, I dreamed of flying in space and walking on the moon.  Given my challenges with basic arithmetic, and my tendency to toss my cookies on anything that spins, this was never going to happen.  If you can’t ride the Tea Cups at Magic Kingdom, chances are you won’t last long riding a Saturn V rocket, either. Go ahead.  Call me an astroNOT. The Kennedy Space Center is only an hour east of Walt Disney World.  It might as well be on the moon. Despite my fascination with space, growing up in Florida, and now flying there more frequently than … [Read more...]

Happy 2019! I hope that your New Year is off to a great start.  Niki and I celebrated the ringing in of the New Year with our Disney family in Indianapolis.  We then spent the first day of 2019 flying home to Southern California. A five hour flight on New Year’s Day gives you a lot of time to think and reflect.  Where have we been? Where are we going? What needs to be the #1 priority over the next 365 days? My resolution was to eat healthier.  In fact, I ate so much on New Year’s Eve that I declared that I was not eating at all during 2019.  This unrealistic resolution held throughout the cross-country flight. I said “no” to the peanuts. I said “no” to the pretzels. I even said “no” to my all-time favorite cookies—the Oreos. When we landed at LAX, I was so proud of … [Read more...]

People often ask me why I love Disneyland so much. They want to know why I am so interested in Walt. When did this start? How did this all begin? Despite going by the name “Dr. Disneyland,” I do not hold a doctorate degree in all things Disney. My Ph.D. is actually in New Testament Studies. My doctoral dissertation focused on narrative criticism and how the Bible uses story to help us live a better story. And that’s the connection. Walt Disney didn’t want to be remembered for Mickey Mouse, Snow White, or even Disneyland. He wanted us to remember him as a storyteller. In fact, he built Disneyland for the purpose of telling stories. Stories that I believe are challenging each of us to go out and live our own, great story. The story of Christmas is one of the world’s best … [Read more...]

When I first dreamed of writing a book about Disneyland, I really only knew two things.  First, I didn’t want to write another Disney history book. Those already existed, I had read almost all of them, and knew that I couldn’t do better than what was already available.  I also didn’t want to write another Disney business book. Those, too, already existed. Plus, I have never worked for Disney and am in education, not business. Instead, I wanted to marry two different markets—our love for Disney and the Disney Parks with our need for personal growth and development.  If you want to know what your passion is then ask yourself this question, What am I willing to read 500 books on? Now no worries.  In order to pursue your passion, you don’t actually have to read 500 books.  But knowing … [Read more...]